The short-term goal of this cloud-based portal architecture is helping municipal Missouri governments better understand environmental law and regulations, but officials hope to create architecture other states can use as well.

In a teaming that sounds vaguely reminiscent of the country's longtime traditional motto "E Pluribus Unum," or "One from Many," officials in two states are collaborating on cloud-based code to build online portals.

Secretary to Government of Nagaland, Horticulture, Alan Gonmei launched the online registration of farmers under National e- Governance plan for Agriculture (NeGDA) on December 2 at Kisama, an official bulletin informed.

“Through this programme, the farmers will now able to access the backing of the experts and scientists,” remarked Gonmei during the launch.

The 14th National Assembly has adopted a resolution on piloting the issuance of e-visas to foreigners starting on February 1, 2017, which has been considered a breakthrough in improving the competitiveness of the Vietnamese tourism industry in the future.

The “push” for the tourism sector

On October 14, 2015, the Government issued the Resolution No. 36a/NQ-CP on building an e-government, in which the issuance of e-visas to foreigners was mentioned. The Prime Minister also emphasised and directed the implementation of this issue at the National Conference on Tourism Development in August 2016. It can be said that the application of e-visas demonstrates the high commitment of the Government to the administrative procedure reform process and that it is consistent with the policy of promoting information and technology applications by State agencies during the 2016-2020 period.

Minister of Information and Communication Trương Minh Tuấn has expressed hope that French businesses, with their advantages in capital and information and experience in international business, will continue investing in Việt Nam.

At a meeting with French Minister of State for Economy, Industry and Digital Technology Bertrand Pailhes during his visit to France from November 26 to 29, Minister Tuấn said that since the two countries set up their strategic partnership in 2013, bilateral co-operation had thrived in all fields, including information and communication technology (ICT).

Every Wednesday morning two chartered buses wait near the central secretariat in Delhi to transport groups of government officials to the lush green campus of the National Institute of Financial Management 35 km away in Faridabad. At the institute, the officials, who work in different central government ministries and departments, undergo a day-long crash course on online purchase of goods and services.

The officials are being prepped to use Government e-Marketplace, or GeM, a clone of Amazon or Flipkart but meant exclusively for government procurement. GeM would eventually offer hundreds of products such as laptop computers and photocopiers and services such as cab hiring and housekeeping to government departments which currently buy them through rate contracts or yearly tenders handed out to vendors and service providers after competitive bidding.

The new system brings together 92 databases, giving users free access to raw data, as well as presenting them with 17 maps highlighting different geospatial features across this county of 1.2 million people.

Tech-savvy Oakland County, Mich., got an early jump on the data game. It started putting geospatial information online in 1998 and in subsequent years did a brisk business selling the data.

The Government of India is implementing the ‘Digital India’ programme with the vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. Digital India is an umbrella programme that covers multiple Government Ministries and Departments and is being coordinated by MeitY. Various e-Governance initiatives are being taken in last two years by Government are as follows:

Malaysia, all set to ride the digital economy wave, can expect to see the contribution of e-commerce to the economy increase within three years, grossing RM211 billion.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the annual growth rate target of 10.8 per cent this year, which was expected to double to 20.8 per cent in 2020, was achievable as there were more than 40 initiatives to spur growth.

The 4th E-Government Forum titled ‘Electronic Services Perspectives’ kicked off yesterday at the Arraya Ballroom. Several companies and institutions are participating in the forum and presenting various solutions for ministries and government institutions in order to help achieve the desired e-government goals including securing data and government systems. The forum is organized by Nouf Expo and sponsored by various institutions.

Nagaland Governor P.B. Acharya Monday called upon the state government to digitize serivces to ensure transparency in all spehres.

In this regard, Acharya suggested adopting electronic tendering system to avoid table tenders and any type of manipulations, to disburse salaries of government employees online so that bogus employees would be eliminated etc.

“There are endless ways to utilize Information and communication technologies to provide efficient and transparent solutions to citizens,” said Acharya, the chief guest at the inaugural session of the second e-Naga Summit at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kohima under the theme “Towards Making the State of Nagaland the next IT Hub in South East Asia”.

Stating that e-governance is the application of information and communication technologies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability between government agencies, business organisations and citizens, Governor PB Acharya said all forms of information technology and e-governance should be promoted so that the state of Nagaland quickly catches up with the rest of the world.

Speaking at the inaugural session as the chief guest at the two day 2nd e-Naga Summit 2016 under the theme ‘Towards making the state of Nagaland the next IT hub in South East Asia’ at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kohima today, Acharya maintained that with rapid advancement in information technologies, citizens are learning to exploit their new mode of access in wide ranging ways.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is preparing for the implementation of shifting some certification registration online, through its e-government services, with the help of the Chinese government.

Minister Veng Sakhon met with China-based Easy Business recently to discuss migrating manual import and export certification systems for sanitation and phyto-sanitation (SPS) products to an online platform, secretary of state for agriculture Hean Vanhan told Khmer Times yesterday.

The Department of Environmental Protection has launched a pilot mobile application that will enhance protection of public health and the environment by enabling the public to use smartphones and other mobile devices to conveniently report non-emergency environmental incidents, Commissioner Bob Martin announced today.

The pilot WARN NJDEP mobile app complements the DEP’s telephone hotline, 877-WARNDEP, which has been in operation for many years.

A seminar on using e-government technologies held in Minsk was attended by almost the entire line-up of the Council of Ministers. The participants analysed the implementation of state informatisation programmes and thoroughly studied international experience in using modern information and communication technologies in public administration.

In recent years, Belarus has made a real breakthrough in this sphere, as pointed out by experts from the United Nations, Estonia, Lithuania, as well as the global hi-tech leader Israel.

Bhopal has been selected for establishment of National Data Centre by the Government of India. This information was given at the presentation of National Informatics Centre (NIC) in the presence of Chief Secretary B P Singh.

State chief of NIC R R Rane informed that the facilities are being expanded continuously under the e-governance. Public related 132 services are being provided through 412 Lok Seva Kendras under the MP e-district.

Azerbaijan, which has already made great strides in building of electronic government, took another step in its bid to provide a full-range of e-services in all government agencies.

President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on the approval of regulations on electronic mortgage. The regulations specify legal, organizational and technological basics of the e-mortgage system, which aims to ensure the allocation of mortgage loans, including low-interest loans granted by Azerbaijan Mortgage Fund.

Following the establishment of an Independent Procurement Commission under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, The Ministry of Finance is considering the introduction of an Electronic Government Procurement system to make the procurement process more transparent and corruption free.

The idea for electronic government procurements are not new and in 2014, the Ministry of Finance Annual report stated, “The government recognises the usefulness of implementing an Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system which could help increase transparency, easy access to information, increase competition and lower cost. The World Bank, ADB and other development partners recommend the introduction of electronic procurement as they are willing to provide technical assistance to implement e-GP in Sri Lanka.”

In a bid to move towards a cashless society, the National Democratic Alliance government plans to use the network of common service centers (CSC) spread across rural India to create a pool of 2-2.5 million digitally financial literate people.

Under the project, CSCs will enable at least 10 merchants to buy swipe machines or use mobile wallets besides training them on how to undertake financial transactions online. The gateway of CSCs will be used by all these merchants to complete financial transactions, according to a senior official from the ministry of electronics and information technology (IT) who did not want to be named.

The coordinator of Government Modernisation Office (e-Gov), Omponye Kereteletswe has said some significant inroads are being made to fully exploit ICT in financial services, health, tourism, social and government services.

Speaking at the 14th World Telecommunications ICT indicators Symposium this week, Kereteletswe said Botswana has made strides in ICT usage in her development agenda largely due to massive investment in infrastructure, information systems and human capacity.

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), digitalization strongly influences how consumers spend their time and access products and services. While many companies acknowledge the significant economic impact of digitalization, they don’t know where to start addressing the issue. Only with the right price strategy will they be able to catch up with this mega trend. International counterparts show the way.

Nine out of ten companies (93 percent) consider digitalization relevant for their business. Yet exactly how they can make the most of the digital revolution’s opportunities is a question often met with perplexity. This is a key finding of the Global Pricing Study 2016*, conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners, in which approximately 2,200 managers from companies in more than 40 countries and a wide variety of industries participated.

As part of its participation at the second edition of the UAE Innovation Week, the Sharjah Department of eGovernment, DeG, is giving workshops on programming language through a series of 'tech' workshops under the theme, 'Education, Awareness, Innovation', until 26th November at Expo Centre Sharjah.

At the centre of these stimulating workshops is the 'Aurindo' programme, an open-source microprocessor platform, which has been the cornerstone of thousands of programming projects spanning robotics, architecture, and even music. A team of experts from DeG are conducting a series of workshops in which they teach and encourage participants to tinker with technology and build a knack for technological innovations.

s part of its participation in the second edition of the UAE Innovation Week, the Sharjah Department of eGovernment (DeG), is hosting workshops on programming language under the theme ‘Education, Awareness, Innovation’ from November 20 to 26 at Expo Centre Sharjah.

At the centre of the workshops is the ‘Aurindo’ programme — an open-source microprocessor platform that has been the cornerstone of thousands of programming projects spanning robotics, architecture, and even music.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced this week the certified ballot count for the Nov. 8 General Election shattered previous records. With 4,165,405 ballots cast out of 5,443,046 active registered voters, turnout was calculated at 76.53 percent.

Although the government continues to push for an enabling environment in ICT and business continuity management, the former Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Nonofo Molefhi appreciates there is still more that can be done in terms of legislation.

Giving a keynote address at a recent Continuity SA Botswana’s 10-year anniversary celebration, Molefhi said there is need for proper legislation on data protection and freedom of information. The Selebi Phikwe East legislator said this at a time where the Freedom of Information Bill has been brought before Parliament in the past, but never saw the light of day.

The Iowa County Treasurer’s E-Government Alliance and GovTech Services have jointly announced upgrades for the ICTEA web application, Iowatreasurers.org, making the site more customer friendly. Property tax payers already have the most advanced mobile online tax payment system available with the Iowatreasurers.org site, and now a couple of key interactive upgrades are being added.

With the upgrade, customers will now be able to sign up for e-mail notifications on the Iowatreasurers.org website. This enhancement will allow users to more easily sign up for email alerts reminding them of upcoming due dates for property taxes in September and March.

What if you could pay your taxes ONLINE and not have to stand IN LINE at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) payment window? What if you could apply for driver’s license ONLINE and not have to stand IN LINE at the Ministry of Transport? What if you could apply for a job ONLINE by simply uploading and submitting your CV or resume directly to the hiring entity? What if you could anonymously REPORT CORRUPTION or ABUSE online? And what if you could apply for a work PERMIT or PASSPORT while you are in a different country? More importantly, what if you could obtain GOVERNMENT SERVICES and INFORMATION from anywhere at any time using an internet-connected device? What if there was a way to actually achieve the transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness that we require of Government at a lower cost? I have two words for you: “ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT” or “e-Government”.

Government IT executives find themselves in a pitched battle with the private sector to woo cyberpros from what most describe as an insufficient labor pool — but CyberSeek hopes to help.

When it comes to building a qualified cybersecurity workforce, state and local technology leaders have a new implement in their toolbox.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently launched CyberSeek, an interactive online resource that planners say will make it easier for cybersecurity job seekers to find openings and for employers to identify skilled workers.

The Los Angeles Department of Human Resources is pushing the envelope of how technology is aiding service delivery for county residents.

Human resource managers in the public sector typically are quick to decry the difficulties in recruiting and retaining a talented workforce. And Los Angeles County, which employs over 108,000 workers through 35 departments, knows this reality all too well.

A mobile government strategy aimed at providing the country with a 24/7 access to public services through the use of mobile applications will be fully operational in March 2017 Principal Permanent Secretary Michael Cutajar and MITA Executive Chairman Tony Sultana announced at a press conference today.

The soft launch, which begins today, will use focus groups to test the application in order to create platforms which are based on citizen involvement.

A wealth of research exists in the public domain in regards to the importance that the millennial generation has on global society. The characteristics of this group have a profound impact on the way that businesses attract and retain the attention of new buyers.

According to a study commissioned by the 1Bank of America Merrill Lynch, there are over 2 billion millennials around the world, of which around 86% live in emerging markets. When we look closer to home, this group accounts for over one-third of the entire GCC population.

What will the health workforce of the future look like with the world of virtual house calls already here?

The telehealth movement hit world headlines in 2011 when US entrepreneur Ron Gutman created HealthTap, the world’s first global health practice providing 24/7 access to GPs via video, text, or voice. This virtual doctor service has provided more than 4.8 billion answers to users in 174 countries.

Belarus wants to be a link between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. It is using its geographic location and economic advantages to attract more foreign investors. One of the key advantages is its pool of young specialists.

Sergei Popkov, Belarusian minister of Communications and Informatisation, spoke to Nikodem Chinowski. They discussed the government’s priorities for the implementation of internet solutions to business and the rapid dissemination of internet access among young Belarusians.

Octo Consulting has won two contracts totaling $16 million to support modernization programs.

Under the first, $5 million contract, Octo will modernize the military health records system electronic medical records for the Army’s Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care Product Management Office.

As the Trump administration's transition team continues to announce its selections for key national security positions, one former intelligence chief said the U.S. still lacks a coherent cybersecurity framework and the Trump team lacks a clear expert on the subject.

The Trump team is moving behind the scenes on cybersecurity recruitment. FCW has learned that Karen Evans, National Director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge, is working with the Trump transition team on cybersecurity issues. Evans was administrator of E-Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget (a job now dubbed "federal CIO") under President George W. Bush.

More than a year after the massive data breach at the Office of Personnel Management was revealed to the public, the agency still has a litany of IT weaknesses and deficiencies, according to a new inspector general report.

The IG's Federal Information Security Modernization Act audit for fiscal 2016 begins with a list of 15 findings, most of which are critical of OPM policies and procedures.

The parliamentary committee handling Science related affairs on Wednesday finalised the draft law establishing the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA). Next is passing of the Bill by Parliament, paving way for the creation of the Agency.

The government tabled the Bill to form RISA, an agency to co-ordinate and implement ICT initiative and projects.

As part of its main strategy in rendering the best and updated level of services, Ajman Police launched a new service offering smart cheques notification, 107 of which were lately logged in by banks.

Brigadier Sheikh Sultan Bin Abdallah Al Nuaimi, Police in Chief of Ajman Police, said that the new service comes as part of the ambitious plan of the Ministry of Interior to transfer all services into an e-government that will ensure fast efficient services offered to clients and saving the number of clients visiting the services centre.

There is no doubt that Kenya has the potential to be one of Africa’s great success stories.

It’s among the fastest growing economies in East Africa and successfully rebased its economy last year, a strategy that saw its nominal gross domestic product rise 25% to $55 billion, making it a middle-income status country. It is now the largest economy in East Africa, with growth anticipated to rise to 6.1 % in 2017. The trillion dollar question is, where to next for Kenya and its people? How do they translate this hard-won economic advantage and growth into sustained ongoing prosperity and take their place on the competitive world economic stage?

A two-day e-government workshop to deliberate on digital economy programmes has opened in Accra to foster government approach to e-government implementation in Ghana.

Organised by the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), the workshop also seeks to ensure collaboration and raise national awareness as well as understanding of stakeholder responsibilities in its implementation.

In a bid to reduce reckless spending during procurement by the Government of Sierra Leone, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) system is to be developed to weed out weak paper base procurement procedures.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in collaboration with the National Public Procurement Authority (NPPA) with support from the World Bank yesterday organized a one day conference on E-Government Procurement System at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown.

Several stakeholders from the public and the private sector attended the E-Procurement conference on the theme “enhancing public procurement efficiency a case for E-Government procurement.”

With the exception of South Africa and Botswana, governments willing to commit significant resources to ICT is a relatively recent trend in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010 Kenya completed the East African Marine System (TEAMS) undersea fibre optic cable project which increased East African broadband and led to the establishment of Kenya's Information and Communication Technology Authority.

Throughout Africa's shift away from economic disconnection to technological advancement and integration with the global economy Rwanda has come a long way since the 1990s. The Rwandan government has placed becoming a technology hub at the centre of the country's national priorities.

The Freedom on the Net 2016 index, compiled by Freedom House, has ranked Estonia first in the world.

The Freedom House report, one of the most authoritative reports in the field, investigated 65 geographically dispersed and politically diverse countries, and ranked them according to obstacles to access, limits on content and violations of user rights. These results translated into quantitative (0-70) and qualitative (free, partially free, not free) ratings. Estonia retained the status of “free”, and actually improved its score from last year by one point. There were no government-imposed restrictions or disruptions to internet access during the past years.

On November 10-11th a delegation from Ukraine, comprised of the representatives of the Ukrainian State Agency for e-governance, Ministry of Justice and “Kiyvstar” mobile operator company, was on a visit in Baku with the aim to get familiarized with the experience of Azerbaijan in the sphere of e-services and advanced technologies applied in the process of provision of services to citizens.
During the visit, the delegation held meetings at Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes, State Agency on Provision of services to citizens and social innovations under the President of Azerbaijan Republic and “Azercell Telecom” and “B.EST Solutions” companies. Special attention in the course of the meetings was focused on issues related with mobile strengthened e-signature “Asan İmza”. Among the items discussed were such topics as overall architecture of the Azerbaijani mobile ID ecosystem, interaction between the components of the system based on public-private-partnership model, innovative e-services available via mobile e-signature etc.

The Government’s recent initiatives on e-governance have started to show results in terms of more efficient and effective delivery of public services, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

Inaugurating the 36th edition of the India International Trade Fair (IITF), Mr Mukhejee complimented India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) for choosing ‘Digital India’ as the theme of this year’s edition of the event.

As a part of Hi-Tech IT School project, schools in Kerala will be digitized with the help of equipments like computers, projectors, sound systems and high speed internet connections.

A hi-tech school project that began as a pilot project in four assembly constituencies is all set to be introduced in the remaining 136 constituencies this week and will cover 45,000 state-run schools from Class 8 to 12. ”This project aims to make Kerala a fully digitalised state in education sector,” said Minister for Education C. Raveendranath. The project was run on pilot basis in Alappuzha, Puthukad, Kozhikode North and Thaliparamba constituencies.

Angela Prigozhina, who leads the World Bank’s financial and private sector work in the South Caucasus, said that the Bank continues its cooperation with Azerbaijani partners, including the Fund, Finance Ministry and the regulator (Financial market Supervisory Body (FMSB)) to develop the market of mortgage financing.

The E.Government – online interaction between the public and the adminstration – will ultimately make all “red tape” simpler, clearer, faster, fairer; and hopefully more honest and more accurate.

And what a relief any sign of any of those qualities would be! But we should not underestimate the task of converting a whole national history of manual records into digital data; nor forget the number one maxim of computerisation: “rubbish in, rubbish out”. For example: The essential information for vehicle registration alone will require the input of 300 million characters (20 data fields per vehicle, 10 characters per field, 1.5 million vehicles).

After 'smart cities', it is now the turn of Haryana's villages to don a spiffy look.The state's five villages, which have been adopted by President Pranab Mukherjee, will be developed into 'smart grams' in two phases, said the President's secretariat team members who visited the areas on Friday along with chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

A 'smart gram' is a village that is self-sufficient, is enabled with technology and has communal harmony.

A training programme for organisers of Common Service Centres (CSCs) across the State will commence from November 14 at the AP Human Resources Development Centre at Bapatla, said Director General, D. Chakrapani.

Two hundred organisers from each district will be trained in the first phase, he said at Bapatla on Thursday. Common Service Centres assistant vice president Raja Kishore acted as a resource person.

Minister of Information and Communications of Kazakhstan Dauren Abayev participated in a global e-government forum, "Gov3.0 Global Forum 2016," held in Pusan, South Korea, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported on November 10.

During the event, heads of departments in the field of ICT, representatives of international organizations and the world's leading scientists from more than 15 countries have discussed various issues relating to innovation in public activities, and shared their experiences.

How much does government spend on ICT? Is it enough? And is it well spent? We hear much about lack of coordination, shortages of key skills and an unhappy workforce in SITA, along with challenges in implementing policy aimed at promoting e-services and narrowing the digital divide.

A new report, SA ICT spend in National and Provincial Government 2016 from analyst firm BMI-TechKnowledge, provides some answers.

Governments today operate in an increasingly complex world, reflected in the volume and ubiquity of data produced by citizens and agencies, as well as the computing power to analyze it. In order to better understand and respond to citizens’ needs and allocate public resources more efficiently, governments must use predictive analytics to leverage this data and develop innovative solutions to contemporary urban challenges.

Predictive analytics is the use of historical data to look for patterns and identify trends, which can be used to reorganize service delivery, anticipate future needs and prevent potential problems. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is working to accelerate the uptake of predictive analytics by governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, spurred by success stories in Montevideo, which is using crime data to analyze patterns of criminal behavior to identify critical points of crime and better target police efforts, and Mexico, which is using data on electricity consumption to get near real-time forecasts of economic activity to inform policymaking. Part of this effort includes launching the “Innovations in Public Service Delivery” discussion paper series, which provides a framework, toolkit and roadmap for public sector employees looking to implement data-driven initiatives. Susan Crawford, Benjamin Weinryb Grohsgal and I contributed the fourth installment of this article series, focusing on challenges, successful case studies and next steps for public officials using predictive analytics.

Kansas City, Mo., serves as a model for how municipalities can encourage innovation and reap the long-term benefits.

Much has been made about the future of cities and what the 21st-century city will look like. Government officials are quick to reference their ideals for smart technology creating more efficient governance and more livable conditions, but how do we tell the difference between cities that do it for press releases and news coverage against those using the tools in a constructive, cost-efficient way?

Trump faces a significant challenge in tackling the broader problem of moving federal agencies off of legacy systems and where to start.

“If you look at everything from the need for modernization of air traffic control to continuing work on the IRS’ modernization efforts, across the board, any kind of real, effective effort to improve on government’s operations has simply got to build on IT modernization,” according to Don Kettl, professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Government spent R14bn on ICT in the 2015/2016 financial year, with limited growth expected through to 2018/2019, according to a new report.

South Africa’s government spent R14bn on information and communications technology (ICT) in the 2015/2016 financial year, with limited growth expected through to 2018/2019, when spending is projected to reach R15,3bn, a new research report has found.

The Housing Bureau is to implement an online service for new real estate agents and brokers to apply for their licenses early next year, the bureau announced yesterday.

According to the head of the Bureau’s license and supervision division, Cheong Sek Lam, the new services are to be part of the policies for building e-government as stated in the city’s five year plan.

I just read that Cape Town has been named Africa’s smartest city by a new report sponsored by Nokia. This comes as no surprise as Cape Town, the second largest city in South Africa has been in the news for its innovations in making use of technology to improve the lives of its inhabitants.

Early this year, in June, the city of Cape Town introduced free wifi in the MyCiti public bus, and only last month, they announced plans to roll out a fleet of electric buses in 2017. Some other principal smart city activities include CCTV, with 560 cameras located throughout the city, open data portal launched in 2015, and several pilots of a smart grid system underway.

Magistrate judges must question the scope and validity of each warrant application that crosses their desks.

The smart devices we carry with us and cling to represent treasure troves of personal data; they could be the linchpin a prosecutor needs to prove a person's location when a crime occurred, which is why agencies are more active than ever in going after them.

Following last year’s establishment of the government’s five-year e-government plan, the Director of the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP), Kou Peng Kuan, said during TDM radio programme Macao Forum that an e-government can only be fully implemented with legal support, commenting that law amendments will only start in 2017.

Director Kou said the five-year plan will be implemented in two stages, with the first three years focusing on tasks such as the improvement of procedures, formation of a basic platform, application practice and legal support.

The Smart Cities Council has opened up the application process for its Readiness Challenge Grant. Winners will receive a host of products and services, but even missing out on the prize holds value.

Getting smarter is a marathon not a sprint. This rings true for both humans and cities. Although it would be ideal for a Matrix-esque instant upload of knowledge or a mega-deal bringing in smart and connected devices, experienced oversight and a playbook every city agency is on board with, these occurrences are still a thing of fantasy. However, cities gradually becoming smarter is not.

It’s due to a combination of very powerful forces coalescing, according to one public official.

Thought leaders from the public and private sectors gathered on Nov. 3 to hone in on what it means to go digital and think about new ways of doing business.

In the public sector, that means taking government as a service to the next level, as “government has always been a service,” noted Nathan Shedroff, a design strategist for the California College of the Arts.

Chika Mefor writes on the giant strides of the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Communication at advancing Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the country, and the repositioning of the sector as a major revenue earner as the federal government aims to diversify the economy.

At the beginning of the year, the federal government through the minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, unveiled a roadmap which will drive the Nigerian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector from 2016 to 2020.

There is no doubt that Kenya has the potential to be one of Africa’s great success stories. It’s among the fastest growing economies in East Africa and successfully rebased its economy last year, a strategy that saw its nominal gross domestic product rise 25% to $55 billion, making it a middle-income status country. It is now the largest economy in East Africa, with growth anticipated to rise to 6.1 % in 2017. The trillion dollar question is, where to next for Kenya and its people? How do they translate this hard-won economic advantage and growth into sustained ongoing prosperity and take their place on the competitive world economic stage?

Telekom Brunei Berhad (TelBru) infrastructure has capabilities to support the Smart Nation vision, but more cohesive cooperation among stakeholders is needed to realise this initiative, a top official of the telecom major said.

“The Smart Nation concept can take Brunei into the next ICT era and improve the quality of life. Innovation is our way of life and our people are constantly making things better and bigger. Bruneians are no longer followers, but leaders in their own way. Culture and technology co-exist in harmonic symbiosis which is the vision of our Smart Nation,” Lim Ming Soon, Chief Marketing Officer of TelBru, said at the one-day TelBru ICT Forum held at t The Rizqun International Hotel yesterday.

The new government is planning to implement an E-government or digital government service during their tenure. This will make their public services faster and it will save time and money.

Entrepreneurs in the ICT sector said they would get economic benefits when the government implements the system. But it is questionable whether the government has a master plan or specific budget for it.

The government is urgently addressing 10 areas that need to be improved to make it easier to do business in Thailand, in a bid to make the country one of the top 30 business-friendly destinations next year.

State agencies must improve the 10 areas seen as stumbling blocks to doing business, before reporting their progress to a special committee in January, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.

Uttar Pradesh government has made Hindu Marriage Certificate available online under e-governance programme. Now couples can register their marriage online without going to the registrar's office. Principal Secretary Stamp and Registration Department Anil Kumar said here today that UP government has facilitated couples going to marry that they can register their marriage online. Now they do not need to rush to registrar office for that.

You Google. You Uber. Are you ready to “gov?” Actor (and tech investor) Ashton Kutcher thinks so and it was a theme at the Reverb conference in Denver.

“Google it.” “Uber home.” “Airbnb-ing.” Will government be the next noun to morph into a verb? That’s the hope and a driving force behind the Reverb conference, which brought government, tech startups and venture capitalists together Nov. 3 in Denver to discuss innovation in the public sector.

The Commission on ICT of Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs’ Confederation has started preparing a strategic plan of ICT development in the country's industry, Chairman of the Commission Ismail Alakbarov said on November 3.

He told that the opportunity to offer Azerbaijani IT-products to the international market is an important component of this strategy.

Georgian and international experts are working together to develop an e-Georgia Development Strategy and turn Georgia into an IT-based governance state.

We are actively working on the e-Georgia Development Strategy. This document is a guideline based on international and local experiences and best standards in practice,” said chairman of Georgia’s Data Exchange Agency (DEA) Irakli Gvenetadze.

The Strategy unites all state institutions and identifies the necessary activities, the implementation of which can turn Georgia into a sustainable e-Governance model state,” he added.

The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) plans to expand its structure to cover all the regulatory functions of National e-Government Procurement (e-GP) in the country, reports UNB.

"As per the current structure, CPTU is a wing of Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED). Considering huge upcoming activities of CPTU, plan to restructure it is justified," said CPTU Director General (DG) Md Faruque Hossain.

The Andhra Pradesh government has approved a R2,030-crore e-Pragati project, a comprehensive e-governance project simplifying the process of delivery of government and citizen services.

Developed in association with Wipro in eight months, this project provides a comprehensive framework for implementing e-governance, transforming the state into Digital AP and facilitating electronic delivery of services to citizens. With e-Pragati, Andhra Pradesh hopes to become the first state to conceive and execute a state-wide enterprise architecture.

ietnamese firms, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), should take advantage of the power of digital technology to boost sales and improve competitiveness, delegates said at a workshop held in HCM City yesterday.

Việt Nam has a high growth rate of internet penetration, with 52 million internet users or more than half of the population.

The prime need for making the government truly efficient and proactive is to ensure an optimum use of information and communication technology (ICT) in governance matters and service delivery at all levels. The policymakers do also appreciate this need. They are pledge-bound to transform Bangladesh into a digital one by the year 2021; they have already initiated a host of actions, including the preparation of an e-Government Master Plan, keeping this pledge in mind. This plan has been designed to cover proper digitisation of 52 ministries and divisions and 68 public sector departments and organisations. Enhancing the capacity of the government officials is the primary goal of the Master Plan, being drawn up with grant support of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (Koica). Here capacity-building is purported to ensuring better delivery of public services at a fast pace.

There is a difference between the way a person buys a book on the Internet and the way a person fills out a form to apply for government benefits.

But why?

Much of the discussion on Nov. 2 at the Code for America (CfA) Summit was focused on that question. Why is it that so many people have a hard time applying for business licenses, or enrolling in food assistance programs, or doing most things involving government?

In places like Cobb County, Ga., and Forsyth County, N.C., officials have implemented GIS applications to give the public easy access to polling-station wait time information, along with other relevant election data.

Early voting has become an increasingly popular option across the electorate. Between absentee ballots, mail-in and early voting at the polls, more than 46 million voters — almost 36 percent of the total — cast nontraditional ballots in 2012, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. This year is on target for the same or greater.

All state bodies and institutions are to communicate electronically by preference as of November 1, using electronic letterboxes.

Although this duty was introduced on November 1, 2013, the amendment to the law on e-government postponed the duty for those authorities which could not use the electronic communication due to technical problems, in particular the courts.

Smart sensors are part of what makes a city smart. But recent visits to Berlin and Barcelona suggest that ground-up, collaborative efforts by citizens and entrepreneurs are the essential ingredients to turn a smart city into a truly compelling place to call home.

At first glance, Berlin, Barcelona and Singapore do not seem to have a lot in common. A closer look, however, will show that all three aspire to become "smart cities" in order to increase the quality of urban life.

DHS launches site to get the emergency preparedness message to businesses.

At the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Assistant Secretary for the Office of Infrastructure Protection Caitlin Durkovich recognizes how hard it can be for emergency managers to distill the message of preparedness for citizens and businesses.

Open data is only as good as the data analytics platforms and true data transparency policies on which it relies.

Data is part of everything we do, especially given the current open data movement. From financial market performance to farmer’s market locations, weather to health care, bridge and road safety to population information, significant amounts of data are yielded and available for aggregation and analysis, and can be applied to improve public services. This is the philosophy behind the open data movement — that if we make all of this data available to the public, at least the high-value data, we can crowdsource public service issues and come up with the best possible solutions.

By July 2017 the project will connect the state’s 274 school districts and 600,000 students to the all-fiber Arkansas Public School Computer Network.

Mark Myers remembers his very first day on the job in January 2015 as the state of Arkansas’ CIO and director of the Department of Information Systems (DIS). “I was with Gov. [Asa] Hutchinson in the mansion, and he said, ‘Hey, Mark, you have got to get this K-12 broadband thing fixed,’” he recalled.

Oakley, Calif., is one small city trying to cash in on the explosion of smart city technology. Here's how they're doing it.

Much has been said about the impending reality of smart cities. Pictures of futuristic metropolises equipped with self-driving (even flying) cars, citywide high-speed Internet and sensors constantly gathering an endless flow of data come to mind. But what role do smaller cities play in this landscape? Oakley, Calif., is working to answer that question.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K Gasana yesterday met with owners and representatives of driving Schools to review the progress made in exploiting e-services particularly Irembo portal and to draw strategies of future exploitation of electronic services.

During the meeting, the Police Chief rooted for enhanced cooperation and partnership in ensuring both police and driving schools offer quality services to the public.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has made it compulsory for all departments to go online from November 1 in a bid to promote e-governance. The departments are finding it tough to go online in the absence of technical support. However, the chief minister has ordered the departments to send all the files in e-format only to his office for approvals.

The state government has been long pushing for e-governance in Mantralaya and other government offices to go paperless and maintain proper record of the documents. However, most of the departments only make note of the file movement online instead of uploading the entire file.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Emmanuel K. Gasana, yesterday, met with owners and representatives of driving schools to review the progress made in exploiting e-Services, particularly Irembo portal, and to draw strategies of future exploitation of electronic services.

During the meeting, the Police chief rooted for enhanced cooperation and partnership in ensuring both Police and driving schools offer quality services to the public.

Implementation of the Smart City project in 60 towns will entail an investment of Rs 1.35 lakh crore and 20 cities have started rolling out their schemes, says Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

While there is a stiff competition among states to get smart city projects in their cities, Uttar Pradesh has so far not shown any interest in the mega scheme, a brain child of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says the Minister.

From top level appointments in government to other key orders from the Personnel Ministry, all these things will now be available to people on a first-of-its-kind mobile application developed by the Centre.

Besides these, over 4,900 IAS officers working across the country will be able to access details of their Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APAR), Immovable Property Returns (IPR), postings, domestic and foreign training, among others, at their finger tip.

Government Technology caught up with Benny Chacko, CIO of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, who discussed the importance of understanding your agency’s unique business needs and thinking beyond technology.

Understanding the more technical aspects of the job of a public-sector IT professional is just the beginning. Modern CIOs bring a very diverse set of backgrounds — educational and professional — to their positions, and the agencies they work for reap the benefits. CIO Benny Chacko, of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, supplemented his bachelor’s degree in computer science with an MBA in finance to broaden his skill set, and had a number of private-sector jobs before joining the county workforce. We caught up with Chacko recently at the Los Angeles Digital Government Summit, where he talked about the importance of understanding your agency’s unique business needs and thinking beyond technology.

MEP Marlene Mizzi supported new measures agreed by the European Parliament making it easier for disabled and elderly people to access public services, websites and apps of public administrations, such as hospitals, courts and other public sectors bodies on the internet.

"Access to public websites on the internet and e-government is extremely important and will soon be indispensable . Public administrations are becoming more digitalised and soon people will need to send their tax declaration, pay their bills and taxes, and apply for allowance,digitally. That is why it is extremely important to make public websites and applications accessible to everyone” commented MEP Mizzi shortly after the vote.

In this tech-savvy era, the world continues to innovate and put an ‘e’ for many services such as email, e-commerce, e-payments, and e-banking, with the prefix standing for ‘electronic’. Cambodia, too, does not lag far behind, as a large majority of Cambodians are aware of the internet and many have jumped onto the bandwagon of smartphones and online communication. However, there is now a new ‘e’ kid on the block – e-government.

Government has mandated support for Indian languages in all mobile phones to be sold in the country from July 1, 2017 onward.

"In exercise of the power conferred by clause 10(1) of Bureau of Indian Standard Act... the central government, hereby includes the Indian language support for mobile phone as per IS 16333(Part-3) to the schedule of 'Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement for compulsory Registration) Order, 2012", an official notification said.

To expand the reach of convenience offered to EPF members, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has joined the network of Common Services Centers (CSC), the Union Ministry of Labour & Employment said on Thursday.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between EPFO and CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (CSC SPV) on Tuesday.

GOVERNMENT has urged the public and private sectors to effectively embrace the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) to stimulate economic development, Minister of Transport and Communication Brian Mushimba has said.

Mr Mushimba said embracing ICTs is in line with President Lungu’s vision of making the country smart by promoting innovation in the provision of products and services.

The websites and apps of public administrations, hospitals, courts and other public sector bodies will have to be made accessible to everyone, under new EU-wide rules approved by the European Parliament on Wednesday. The web accessibility directive, already agreed by Parliament and Council, should make it easier for disabled and elderly people to access data and services on the internet, e.g. to file a tax declaration, apply for an allowance, pay fees or enrol at university.

“Today, we have ensured that e-government is accessible to everyone. Just as physical government buildings should be accessible, so too should the digital gateways. We solved the public side of web accessibility, but the internet is far more than government websites and apps. We need reform also for the private world of services, from banks to television stations to private hospitals. I hope that we can soon adopt the European Accessibility Act, so that both public and private services are accessible to all our citizens”, said Parliament’s rapporteur Dita Charanzová (ALDE, CZ).

Accompanying important benefits of the switch from analog to digital, one challenge looms large: the increased risk of cyberattacks on 911 call centers.

Emergency Management has published several articles about the movement toward a next-generation 911 (NG911) system based on modern Internet protocols that will allow responders to take advantage of capabilities such as text and video messaging.

Beyond the capability to send and receive texts and multimedia, there are other benefits to the new types of networks. Public safety answering points (PSAPs) will be able to transfer calls and activate alternative routing to share the burden during an emergency or when they are closed by disaster.

Three aspects of open data for governments to consider as they transform data into insights for citizens.

With the world’s volume of data fast growing, organizations are quickly realizing the value of their information. Data is becoming a critical asset in helping organizations understand business performance, customer sentiment and market trends.

And the public, in turn, is having a similar epiphany. Citizens now see open data as the key to better understanding the issues they care about the most, be it education, health care or housing.

Egress chief executive Tony Pepper says a 20% drop in data breaches for local government is good news, but there is still work to do

Despite the doom and gloom headlines, local authorities do seem to be getting better at data protection. A Freedom of Information request submitted to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) over the summer found a 20% drop in breaches in the sector over the past two years. Great news. However, the same FoI also showed that local government is still second in line – after healthcare – for having the most reported data breaches across industries. So while local authorities should be commended for getting things back on track, there are still challenges to overcome

States have struggled to meet federal ID requirements since stiffer regulations were passed in 2005; now, as deadlines loom, extensions on compliance are getting more difficult to come by.

A looming federal mandate continues to put states on edge and threatens to further complicate air travel in the United States.

The so-called Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as part of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations for more consistent identification standards, but implementation of the stricter rules — which includes incorporating anti-counterfeit technology into the card — has been anything but straightforward.

The Digital Single Market is a priority for the European Commission, but national interests are taking precedence over pan-European idealism at the cost of e-government progress.

The UK is lagging behind its European competitors on digital government, according to management consultancy Capgemini, while national interests are slowing down progress towards the Digital Single Market.

Morocco is making progress in e-government sector but lags behind some countries in Mid­dle East and North Africa.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI called for the reform of public administration in an address at the opening of the autumn session of the new parliament, a week after the legislative elections.

“True commitment to political and party principles means one should put the citizen above all other considerations. It means one should fulfill the promises made to the citizen and show dedication in serving him or her, making those promises prevail over any party or personal interests,” the king said.

Lanka Government Network (LGN) 2.0 has been proposed by ICTA to be implemented from 2016-2018.

It aims to provide high speed internet connection by leveraging on the National Backbone Network to government organizations to enable the Digital government plan. The three year project is estimated to cost Rs 12,737million. The cabinet of ministers gave approval for this proposal said CO-Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka.

Sharjah makes a bold statement in leading the UAE into a bright digital future on final day of region";s largest ICT event

Sharjah, UAE, 22October 2016: Sharjah has made a bold statement of its intention to lead the Emirate into a bright digital future with the launch of an array of e-government applications and digital services at the conclusion of GITEX Technology Week 2016.

In a major boost to the state Police, the police Department on Saturday launched Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) Go Live, in a small but impressive program held at Police Head Quarter (PHQ) here. The CCTNS Go Live was launched by Home Minister Kumar Waii along with Parliamentary Secretary (Home) Pani Taram in presence of Director General of Police S. Nithiayanandam, IGP Law and Order N. Payeng, DIGP Taba Tusar, IGP(A) Nuzhat Hassan and many other top ranking police officers.

Attracting the next generation through e-commerce and online comparison sites.

A wealth of research exists in the public domain in regards to the importance that the millennial generation has on global society. The characteristics of this group have a profound impact on the way that businesses attract and retain the attention of new buyers.

It was stated by the Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Hafiz Hafeez-ur- Rehman during his visit to the Punjab IT Board (PITB). Chairman PITB Dr. Umar Saif who is also Vice Chancellor of IT University Lahore, briefed him on the diverse ICT interventions initiated in Punjab. CM Gilgit Baltistan was acquainted with ICT interventions in the fields of education, health, law & order, e-governance and citizen facilitation services.

In a landmark decision, which would completely eliminate the fraudulent practice of ghost faculty prevalent in the medical colleges (especially private) of the country, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has asked all the colleges to submit Aadhaar number and biometric details of their staff. The apex body of medical education has even appointed a Hyderabad based IT firm to implement the plan across the country. Moreover the MCI has also decided to issue Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to all the faculty members and the students of the medical colleges.

The decision of MCI though belated would mean that the private medical colleges would now no longer be able to appoint ghost faculties. A ghost faculty is a fictitious faculty which a college claims to be its faculty member but in actual practice such faculty exists only on paper and these ghosts make a brief appearance when there is a MCI team visiting the college. The system of ghost faculty is beneficial proposition for both the college and the doctors as the former don’t have to appoint high paying permanent members of faculty and the later getting some monetory benefit in lieu of putting their name on the attendance register of a college.

Cybersecurity isn’t a new priority for government, but investment in technologies and responsive policies that protect against attacks has lagged in recent years. Cyberattacks have evolved to become more sophisticated and complex, making it imperative that governments invest in technical and policy solutions that address the dynamic nature of these threats. Indeed, according to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, cybersecurity was ranked as the number one strategic IT priority in 2015 for state and local agencies.

As Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, is expected to be led by ICTs such as AI, robots and biotechnology, technologies for collecting, analyzing and making use of big data are must-hove tools. Though the Korean government has been opening up government data to the public by implementing Government 3.0, still much needs to be done to turn open government data (OGD) into commercial and industrial values. To revitalize the big data industry through Government 3.0 and usher in Industry 4.0 through big data utilization, The Korea IT Times arranged a meeting between Chairman Chang Kwang-soo of the Forum on the Future of Big Data and DataStreams CEO Lee Young-sang.

The government has connected 72 public institutions with the government communication network (GovNet) system that will enable them use internet.

The institutions are now connected to the national fiber optic network.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, the education and communication manager of E-Government Agency (EGA) Ms Suzan Mshakangoto said the system will easy the communication processes and reduce cost in the public institutions.

State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Asman Abnur said that Bojonegoro District can be an example of development for its e-government implementation.

“I would like to express my appreciation to Kang Yoto [Bojonegoro Regent Suyoto’s nickname],” he said Wednesday after the Transparent Government Festival in Bojonegoro. A number of East Java government officials also attended the event.

The sultanate represented by the National Digital Certification Centre at Information Technology Authority (ITA) recently participated in the Expert Group Meeting on Mobile ID (mID) in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union of the United Nations in the Republic of Poland.

The aim of the expert group meeting is to share ideas about innovative mobile identity solutions and share experiences about past and current implementation efforts at the national level.

The sewa kendras set up by Punjab government in rural and urban areas are seeking an extra fee of Rs 200 for an RTI application as "facilitation charges".

The charge is being levied across the state at all sewa kendras even as the Right To Information (RTI) Act has prescribed a fee of Rs 10 for filing an application. The boards displayed outside sewa kendras, or service centres, mention the fee for various services. According to RTI activists, even though the facilitation fee is not illegal as it was cleared by the state government, the amount is too high. The fee for an RTI application is Rs 10, while the facilitation charges mentioned on the dispolay boards is Rs 200.

People will be able to scan through the list of available doctors and make appointments.

Come November, patients will be able to skip long queues to see a doctor at New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)-run hospitals. In what should come as a relief to about 25,000-30,000 people visiting NDMC's 39 dispensaries and four hospitals, they will be able to log on to its e-portal to fix appointments and find details of their medical history, among other services.

The government of Thailand wants two telecoms operators, TOT and CAT Telecom, to upgrade their data centres as part of a national data centre project.

TOT and CAT would be given the responsibility of storing sensitive and important data for state agencies, according to Sak Segkhoonthod, president and CEO of Thailand’s Electronic Government Agency (EGA).

The E-Government National Centre (eGNC) of the Prime Minister’s Office announced two new channels on Thursday for the public hotline, Darussalam Line 123 (TD123): the ‘TD123 Mobile App’ and the‘TD123 Live Chat’.

The ‘TD123 Mobile App’ enables members of the public to send photos and keep up with the status of their complaints, aside from receiving notifications on their smartphones and tablets.

Zimbabwe will have a new law by year-end, which will decentralise purchasing to procurement management units in government departments, parastatals, State-owned enterprises and local authorities in far reaching reforms meant to ensure efficiency and quality service delivery.

Solomon Mhlanga, senior principal director in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), told journalists attending a procurement and contracting out workshop in Kariba yesterday the reforms would transform the State Procurement Board (SPB) into an authority responsible for setting standards and guidelines, as well as performing a monitoring and evaluation role over procurement.

Housing Minister Bassim bin Yaqoub Al Hamer has affirmed that the kingdom has made advanced strides at the level of sustainable development following its success in upgrading all aspects of life and improving the living conditions of the citizens through landmark achievements attained thanks to the efforts of the political leadership.

Speaking during a special session on "Smart Cities", held on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) Third Habit Conference in the Ecuadorian city of Quito, the minister added that Bahrain had made pioneering steps in providing innovative solutions to cope with the increasing demand for housing through a package of unconventional solutions such as enhancing cooperation with the private sector and developing long-term programmes, attributing the successes to the unlimited support of the leadership.

As technology continues to evolve faster than organizations, there’s a gap between Internet of Things products and services and the government practices designed to effectively manage them.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more and more prevalent, the big question local governments should ask themselves is “Are we prepared to steward the public’s data in the context of IoT?” While there are exceptions, we suspect that in many cases, the answer to that question is “no.” As technology continues to evolve faster than organizations, there is a gap between IoT products and services and the public policies and government practices designed to effectively manage them. All governments considering the IoT should acknowledge this capability gap and carefully consider the following three issues in order to design policies and practices that allow government to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of IoT investments.

Just as it would not make sense to only fund bridges and highways in one city in the United States, it makes no sense to limit investment in the sensors, systems and networks needed to build smart cities to a single location.

Many governments around the world are working diligently to build smart cities — those that use sensors, data and analytics to tackle important urban issues such as how to better manage sanitation systems, improve transportation networks and deliver government services more efficiently. For example, cities can install sensors in water mains to detect leaks or conduct computer-based analysis on real-time video feeds to combat crime. Unfortunately the United States has woefully underinvested in smart city efforts compared to other leading countries. To address this shortcoming, federal, state and local governments should come together to create a new stream of funding for U.S. cities to increase investment in the digital infrastructure they need to ensure they are modern, sustainable and competitive.

Funded as part of the Austin Office of Sustainability’s operations, the dashboard served as a tool to unify sustainability efforts.

We are a nation of goal-setters — we set a goal, work toward it and track our progress until we reach it. From how many pounds we’ve lost to how much money we’ve saved, it’s how we learn to do better. The same is true at the Office of Sustainability in Austin, Texas, where officials recently launched a new dashboard to boost transparency and track citywide progress with sustainability initiatives.

That type of data made available by police and health departments leads to easy-to-implement solutions that work for everyone.

Throughout the recent White House Frontiers Conference, one theme has been constant: Crafting a future that's all-inclusive for everyone, no matter their race or income level.

This sentiment was enforced by U.S. Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil during a talk about the future of criminal justice systems. By working across departments and sharing data, he said, members of law enforcement can work closely with public health departments and members of academia to ensure the best techniques are used to treat individuals.

The House Committee on Information and Communications Technology has ordered the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to fast-track its plan to lower interconnection charges for voice calls.

The order was made after lawmakers aired their complaints against telecommunications services in the country, including slow Internet, dropped calls and costly voice-call charges to other networks, during a recent committee hearing, headed by Rep. Victor A. Yap of Tarlac.

MoU was signed by Moez Chakchouk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunisian Post and Khalid Elgibali, Division President, Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard, at a ceremony held at the Social Headquarter of the Tunisian Post, under the auspices of H.E. Mohammed Anwar Maarouf, Minister of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, Tunisia, with the presence of a number of executives representing the two institutions and members of the local media.

Building on decades of cooperation between the two organizations, the collaboration will enable the Tunisian Post to introduce innovative and safe solutions for electronic payments for the benefit of individuals and SMEs, allowing them to use financial services round-the-clock via the Tunisian Post’s electronic payment system and particularly, the prepaid e-DINAR Smart Card.